Hometown hero Jim Cotter held off Tom Buchy to win 5-3 and advance to the playoffs of the CDI B.C. men’s championship Thursday night in Vernon, B.C.
Cotter blanked the opening end of the A-final game but gave up a single steal in the second to give Buchy a 1-0 lead. The four-time B.C. champion bounced back taking two in third and stealing a point in the fifth for a 3-1 advantage.
Buchy blanked the sixth but was held to one in seven and Cotter added another deuce in eight to make it 5-2. The Kimberley-based Buchy got another point in the ninth but gave up the hammer coming home trailing by two.
Men’s provincial curling championships: Click here for live scores
Team Buchy dropped to the B-bracket semifinals and will face another Vernon team as Mark Longworth edged Daniel Wenzek of New Westminster 6-5.
Sean Geall, of New Westminster, took down Victoria’s Neil Dangerfield 8-1 to reach the other B-event semifinal to meet Richmond’s Dean Joanisse, who earned a 6-5 victory over Brent Pierce’s team from Kelowna.
Watch playoff coverage of the CDI B.C. men’s championship starting Saturday at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Sportsnet Pacific. The winner of the tournament will represent B.C. at the Tim Hortons Brier, starting Feb. 28 in Calgary.
